Star Wars The Force Unleashed II

Explore more of the hidden shadows of the Sith with this sequel to the hit game Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Starkiller, Darth Vader's apprentice, returns with over-the-top Force powers and embarks on a journey to discover his own identity and to reunite with his one true love, Juno Eclipse. In Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II, Starkiller is once again the pawn of Darth Vader -- but instead of training his protégée as a ruthless assassin, the dark lord is attempting to clone his former apprentice in an attempt to create the Ultimate Sith warrior. The chase is on -- Starkiller is in pursuit of Juno and Darth Vader is hunting for Starkiller.

With all-new devastating Force powers and the ability to dual-wield lightsabers, Starkiller cuts a swath through deadly new enemies across exciting worlds from the Star Wars films -- all in his desperate search for answers to his past.

Publisher : LucasArts

Developer : LucasArts

Release Date : 10/26/2010

Platforms : PC, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii

GT Game Rank : 19 of 13,474

Users Tracking : 1458

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Also on: Wii, DS, PSP, PS3, iPhone, PC

RP-T+ for Rating Pending, Targeting a Rating of Teen or Above

Genre: Third-Person Action

Plot :

After reading the Force Unleashed and the Fatal Alliance, both books I found average at best, I was a little worried about reading this second installment. I was picturing our fearless and recently dead Jedi/Sith to once again go force crazy as he fought a "boss level" every third chapter, a storyline that was done to death in the first book. To my surprise and gratitude I was wrong. Sean Williams has out done himself with this one. He has woven a complex and intricate web of emotion and suspense that makes the reader feel as if they are in the head of the main characters.

Juno Eclipse is removed from being Starkillers chauffeur and promoted to a major player within the resistance. A promotion that later bites her in the rear-end as she finds herself in a very unforgiving position later in the book. Sean did a very good job delving into the mind of Juno using her personality and affection towards Starkiller to further the books depth.

Starkiller himself has returned from beyond the grave(maybe) and the shallowness of the gaming storyline to be a well-developed character that is more than just a point A to B stick figure that is heartless and mindless. Sean has taken this character and worked his magic, usually saved for his own non-Star Wars books, and made Starkiller a human who's complexities are far deeper than the savage force wielder slaughtering everything in his path.

As for the other characters we have come to know from the first book, Kota, PROXY, Vader and the Organa's, yes they are there and yes they play very important roles within the storyline but this book has a completely different feel in comparison to the first that leaves these characters as a more supportive than instrumental part of the story. With the story taking place during the resistance there are a few surprise appearances from characters we know and love and as many of you may already know from trailers and commercials Starkiller does come in contact with our beloved Yoda. But be warned, do not look forward to in-depth interaction with these characters, it is my guess they have been thrown in for the sake of the game and are not heavy factors within the book.

All-in-all this book has done wonders to reaffirm my belief that Sean Williams is more than capable of producing a well written, complex and fun story within the Star Wars universe. I have begun to wonder about some of the books being published by Del Ray these days as their story arch's are borderline two-dimensional with only a few "deep and emotional" stand alones coming out once a year.

As for the four star rating. The book is very heavy on emotion and character psychology and the balance between that and the action scenes can be a little muddled, but that is only a minor factor. I was more disappointed with the lack of substance with Yoda and the fact that a very heavy thread to the story was left dangling at the end, I'm sure intentionally for the next installment. A fact that overall was not a big deal, it's just with the ending the way it is it left me with a feeling that only one thing was accomplished by the end of 280 pages when there could have been a lot more.

4.5/5 stars for the story. 4.6/5 on the epic scale. One of my favorites and sure to be read again in the future. Wise you would be to read this book I think.

Features :

* Continue the galaxy-altering journey of Starkiller, Darth Vader’s fugitive apprentice, that shapes the key events between Star Wars: Episode III and Episode IV.

* Unleash the Force with more power and precision through improved controls and new powers, such as the deceptive Mind Trick, which turns enemies against their allies.

* Discover the true power of Starkiller with Force Fury, where his attacks and Force powers are exponentially increased.

* Improved targeting system enhances precision use of Force powers and greater interaction with puzzles and the environment.

* Take combat to the next level with the ability to wield dual lightsabers and punish enemies with all-new combo attacks.

* Experience the most life-like interactions with Pixelux Entertainment's Digital Molecular Matter (DMM) coupled with euphoria from Natural Motion Ltd and the powerful Havok Physics system.

* Expanded customization options such as new costumes and power-enhancing lightsaber crystals.

* Fight through all-new challenge levels designed to test and hone your fighting and Force power skills.

* Skillfully manage your combat techniques to defeat a variety of brand-new enemies, which will culminate in epic boss battles.

* Immerse yourself once again in a continuation of the story that was honored with awards from the Writer's Guild of America and the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences.

System requirements :

Intel Processor - Core 2 Duo E4600 2.4GHz

AMD Processor - Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 5200+

Nvidia Graphics Card - GeForce GTS 240

ATI Graphics Card - Radeon HD 3870

RAM Memory - 2 GB

Hard Disk Space - 25 GB

Direct X - 9